Sewage spills and flooding and earthquakes. Oh, my, what a challenging year it's been for Hawai'i and tourism officials.

The state is launching a new marketing campaign today aimed at keeping tourists coming after earthquakes over the weekend shook the state.

Visitors here during Sunday's earthquakes found themselves in the dark — frightened and inconvenienced like everyone else. Some travelers planning to arrive soon are wondering whether they should cancel their trips.

"I'm certain there are cancellations that will occur because of this," Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday. But the experts "don't expect a long-term impact, and I don't either."

TV images and newspaper coverage of stranded tourists sleeping on airport floors, damaged houses and cracked roads have made the tourist industry here cringe.

Tourism officials are countering with a new video of "good pictures of Hawai'i," such as tourists in the surf and playing with dolphins, said state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert.

Gale Jones of Memphis, Tenn., spent Sunday night and all day Monday at Honolulu International Airport with her four sisters and a brother because their flight was canceled following the quake.

They were in Hawai'i, celebrating Jones's 50th birthday.

"I ain't never going to forget this birthday," Jones said.

Their lu'au was canceled and the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor was closed because of the blackout.

Other tourists said they enjoyed their trip to paradise, despite being rattled.

"I was very, very scared for my life. I wanted to run for the hills in case of a tsunami," said Australian Carrie Prior, 38, who was visiting the Big Island. "But the trip gets a 10 out of 10. It's been awesome."

Patco Collete, coach of the Belgian triathletes competing in Saturday's Ironman World Championship, said the quake added some excitement.

"It's part of nature. We will come back, of course," he said.

The state emphasized that all hotels are open, roads are clear and Hawai'i is open for business.

Lingle said it's important for tourists to realize that Hawai'i is safe to visit.

"They're going to have a great time," Lingle said. "Even when a unique disaster occurs, like a once in 25 years earthquake, we're able to get up and running."

In the spring, 40 days of heavy rain pounded the Islands, contributing to a dam break that killed seven people on Kaua'i. The rain also caused a major sewer line to rupture, closing Waikiki beaches, and heavy flooding throughout O'ahu.

As soon as the sun shone, the state issued a press release stating, "Sunshine Returns to Hawai'i."

But Hawai'i has not seen any falloff in visitors from the events. Americans, especially from the West Coast, are coming to Hawai'i in record or near-record numbers.

Wienert noted Hawai'i withstood the earlier events and there was no long-lasting harm to tourism. "We're hoping the same thing will happen with this one," she said.